segunda-feira, 14 de março de 2016

Testimonial: Sasha Pastran - Carleton University

CPOPP Blog Post March 7, 2016

Sasha Hanson Pastran, MAPPA

Carleton University – PUC-Rio

My dream
to study in Brazil began as soon as I left the country for the first time,
after the 2014 World Cup. Along with a passion for ‘futebol,’ I was head over
heels in love with this country - the people, the language, the cultures, the
politics, the climate, the ‘alegria’, the chaos. I needed to return as soon as
I could, even before finishing my Master’s degree, and the easiest way was
through a student exchange program between Carleton and the Pontifical Catholic
University in Rio de Janeiro.

After
almost two years of planning and hard work – as well as a whole lot of support
from the SPPA, the ISSO, CCCI, and my graduate supervisors Dr. Alex Mallet and
Dr. Maria Angela Campelo de Melo - I have made it back to the “marvelous city”
to immerse myself in a society that is completely outside of what I have known.
I spent the first two months here in an intensive Portuguese course that gave
me the linguistic foundation to take graduate level courses in Portuguese
during the semester (which starts in March in Brazil). It has been a steep
learning curve but knowing Spanish and French have helped me to get a grasp of
the language quickly. I am also excited to play on the PUC-Rio varsity soccer team
and to begin my independent major research, which will take me until the end of
August.

With the
help of a SSHRC Canada graduate scholarship and a MITACS Globalink research
award, I have been investigating the impact of government policies and regulations
on responsible mining practices and the prevention and resolution of mining
conflicts during my Master’s degree. The first phase of my research was an
evaluation of the effectiveness of Canada’s corporate social responsibility
strategy for the extractive sector abroad, with my analysis published in
Carleton Perspectives on Public Policy Journal. Here in Rio, I will examine the
management of mining conflicts in Brazil, another country that has a
significant impact on the global mining industry. My research will become part
of a global research project on mining and forestry policies that Carleton's
School of Public Policy and Administration is leading.

My Brazilian research project will focus on the case of the Samarco mine
tailing dam break that took place on November 5, 2015, along the Rio Doce river
in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. The toxic waste that was released
destroyed the village of Bento Rodrigues and the nearby town of Mariana,
leaving an estimated 17 people dead and hundreds more homeless and without
clean drinking water or a food source. Brazil's environment minister, Izabella
Teixeira, has called the accident the country’s “worst-ever environmental
disaster” in its history. BHB and Vale, the joint owners of the responsible
iron ore mine, reached an R$10bn (US$2.6bn) out-of-court settlement with the
Brazilian government for the damage. The settlement is well below the original R$20bn
claim by Brazilian authorities and the estimated R$30bn long-term remediation
and compensation costs.

The UN Human Rights Commission have attributed the bursting of the dam to a
severe failure in the preventive approach by the managing companies, as well as
inadequate enforcement of regulation in Brazil's mining sector. More generally,
this disaster took place in the context of an economic recession, impeachment
proceedings against the President, and corruption scandals involving some of
the country’s major mining companies and members of the political establishment
as congress proceeds with changes to the county's mining code. Considering this
broader context of political and economic turmoil, my research will explore the
corporate practices that could strengthen the environmental and social performance
of mining companies, as well as the policies and regulations that could
strengthen the conflict prevention and resolution mechanisms in the Brazilian
Mining Code.

If you
are thinking about studying abroad or doing independent research, I am happy to
talk more to fellow students about my journey. Studying abroad and conducting
independent international research is certainly a challenge that not everyone
is able or willing to undertake. But everyday as an international student is filled with thrills,
challenges, surprises and lessons that I would not get to experience any other
way. I am so grateful for this opportunity and I am loving every moment.

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Quem sou eu

PUC-Rio is located in Gávea, a charming neighborhood near the forest and
beaches of the Zona Sul area of Rio de Janeiro. Its campus is
beautifully situated within a tropical forest, surrounded by lush trees
and with a small stream running through it. Visitors and students can
often see small monkeys and squirrels jumping among the trees.